We have so many members with great experience and knowledge in many fields. We need to address some of the most common items that are being seen as sub standard or not up to par.

Many mention brake fade, weak brakes and things of that nature.

I've have a 97 SSEi and had a 95 SSEi. I push my cars reasonably hard frequently and know their abilities. I fully understand the scary feeling of brake fade or weak brakes. Although my feelings of the Bonneville brakes have been that they are pretty good for spirited daily driving.

A few things to consider when we talk about brakes.

The Fluid: All brake fluid can and will get old. How old is your brake fluid? This is a relatively cheap item that is frequently overlooked. .I had the luck of Highlander lending me his power bleeder from Summit Racing (See Powerbleeder Here). This was key because of how well it flushes each brake line. A large container of synthetic fluid (about $8.) and a little time paid off with a much firmer pedal when stopping.

Front Brake Pads and Rotors: When you take your car to a mechanic or brake shop, they are in business to make money. Therefore they put on a low cost pad unless you specify otherwise. Same with rotors. To give you an idea of how much money they are making, Advance Auto sells standard brake pads to their commercial accounts at $9 a set, rotors are $22-$27 each, the job takes about 30 minutes. Ceramic pads are a high quality, much long lasting pad with low dust qualities. The low dust keeps your rims about 75-90% cleaner than regular pads. On rotors, recently I posted a thread about cheap ($22-$27) rotors versus a premium rotor (about $50). The difference in quality and amount of material is amazing.

Rear Brakes: While they do very little..they should be doing something. Typically they are adjusted when installed and never adjusted again. Odd thing about our cars, you must remove the drum to adjust rear brakes. (there is no knockout plate on the backing plate). Checking to make sure they are adjusted and working properly is the first step.. Then once a month or 2 weeks..back up a few times and stop quick. This adjusts them and keep them where you need them to assist the front brakes in stopping the car.

While there are other components that can fail or cause issues, these three are key in having no fade and good braking qualities.

To help direct this post, I'd like to keep it on the topic. Please, do not post what brand of rotors or brake pads you have. Cheap, premium and synthetic were chosen to keep it general.

Wow nice right up Bill

I think next time when i do my brakes im going to get the better pads and tthe ~$50 roters...

is there any Caliper upgrades for these cars?

yes. eastwood sells one and i think you can a similure one at harbor freight

*edit: it made by Mityvac.

I have seen the Bleeder that Bill is talking about and it is pretty awesome...def. a good tool to have

Here'* what Harbor freight had to offer in brake bleeder kits:

Brake Bleeder Kits

Nothing fancy, that'* for sure.

I also have not ever bled my brake fluid and replaced it. While my brakes seem fine and I don't really experience the fade some have mentioned, it may be because of my eldery driving habits, lol.

Really good write up and reminder, Bill.

Surely there are others that may be better cost. As well if many members are near each other, it would pay to chip in on one. The key to the bleeder seems to be that it is a power (pushing) bleeder.

You hook up the empty bleeder to your master cylinder, add pressure to test for leaks. Remove pressure, add fluid and repressurize. When you open a bleeder the fluid flows out at a nice rate and you watch until the fluid comes out clear like the fresh fluid you purchased.

I've completely flushed the fluid on the 93. Just doing that made a difference in pedal feel and brake response. It'* good to do.

I use a cheap bleeder (one-man style), it works solo, but it'* a time-consuming process.

I may actually be doing the rear brakes on the Zilla this weekend, simply because I've not touched them since I've owned the car. I do occasionally pull the drums and inspect, but it'* probably time to do the brake cylinders, springs, drums, and shoes. I need to give my front brakes a break.

that is vary nice... hhmmmm maybe i might get that one

After using the bleeder that boosty is borrowing from AJ, I can say, that I will likely never do brakes again w/o one. It made flushing all the fluid in my brake system an EASY 1 man job, and there is nothing like not having a sore leg after trying to peasureize the system.

Just pump it a few times, and go open the bleeder.

If you dont believe how replacing the brake fluid makes a difference, ask youself how effective fluid looking like this is at dispersing heat (not boiling) and holding its preasure.

for those of you who dont know, Clean brake fluid is clear And yes, that is from my 96.

Nice write up boosty. A little changing and it could be a good tech info article